Privacy & Cookie Policy

StaySeaside is a Jersey Shore discovery platform operated by StaySeaside LLC (“StaySeaside,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). We help guests find coastal stays, towns, and local picks, and we help hosts and local businesses get discovered. Reservations themselves are completed on a host’s Airbnb, Vrbo, or direct booking site — not on StaySeaside.

This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains what we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to stayseaside.com and related services we operate.

We collect information in three ways: you provide it, we generate it as you use the site, and our service providers process it on our behalf.

Account and profile. Email address, name, phone number if you add one, newsletter preference, and whether you use the site as a guest, host, business, or admin.

Guest activity. Saved stays, trip-planning history, Crew conversations, messages you send to hosts, and in-app notification records.

Host and business content. Listing and business profiles, photos, addresses and map pins, amenities, house rules, guest-fit notes, local tips, booking links, calendar feeds, imported Airbnb listing details and reviews, and Instagram reels you connect to a stay.

Billing. For paid host subscriptions, we collect the information needed to start and manage checkout. Card numbers are handled by Stripe; we store subscription status, plan, and related billing identifiers — not your full card number.

Usage and device data. Pages and listings you view, booking-link clicks, Crew mentions of a stay, approximate location if you allow the browser to share it while placing a map pin, IP address, and standard server logs used to run and secure the site.

We use personal information to:

• Create and authenticate your account, including email one-time codes and social login.
• Operate discovery, search, maps, saved stays, messaging, notifications, and Crew.
• Publish and review host listings, business profiles, and events.
• Send transactional email (login codes, message alerts, listing and billing notices).
• Send the StaySeaside newsletter when you opt in.
• Process host subscription payments and manage plans.
• Measure how stays are viewed and clicked so hosts can see performance.
• Improve recommendations, prevent abuse, debug issues, and comply with law.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

You can sign in with an email one-time code. We generate a short-lived code, email it from our authentication address (typically auth@mail.stayseaside.com), and use it only to verify that you control the inbox.

You may also sign in with Google or Apple. Those providers send us basic profile details they are authorized to share — usually your name and email (Apple may provide a private relay address). Their own privacy policies govern what they collect when you use their buttons.

Authentication and session storage are provided by Supabase. After you sign in, we keep a session so you stay logged in while you browse.

Guests can message hosts about a stay. Message content is stored in our database and shown to the people in that conversation. We also send an email alert and an in-app notification when there is a new message, using our notifications sender (typically notifications@mail.stayseaside.com).

Hosts and admins receive additional in-app and email notices about listing review, visibility, and billing. Transactional message and notification email is sent through Resend. Do not send payment card numbers, government IDs, or other highly sensitive data through StaySeaside messages — we are not a booking or payments desk for stays.

If you opt in — during signup, from the site footer, or later in account settings — we save your preference and send seasonal trip ideas, new listings, and Cape May County updates. Newsletter delivery is handled by Flodesk. You can unsubscribe in account settings or through the link in a newsletter email.

Hosts may also be added to operational email segments (for example, pending vs. active hosts) so we can send onboarding and listing updates. Those messages are about your hosting account, not a marketing list you have to join to use the product.

Crew is StaySeaside’s AI concierge. When you chat with Crew, we store the conversation in your account and send recent messages, plus relevant stay and town context, to OpenAI so it can generate a reply. Hosts can also use Crew-style writing help to rewrite a listing description; that text is likewise sent to OpenAI.

Crew recommendations are based on host-provided profiles, StaySeaside local guides, and the conversation you are having. Replies can be incomplete or wrong. Do not treat Crew as a booking confirmation, legal, safety, or accessibility guarantee, and do not paste passwords, payment details, or other sensitive personal data into a chat.

OpenAI processes prompts according to its own terms and privacy policy. We use Crew to help you plan a trip and to help hosts describe stays — not to train a public model of your private account on our side.

Published stay and business details are shown to visitors, including photos, descriptions, amenities, general location, and booking links. Street addresses and exact map coordinates may appear on a listing when a host provides them.

We use Google Maps, Places, and geocoding to search addresses, validate locations, and display maps. If you use “current location” while placing a pin, your browser may share coordinates with us and with Google. Google’s services are subject to Google’s Privacy Policy.

Hosts may import listing details, reviews, and photos from Airbnb, pull Instagram reels, and connect an iCal feed so availability stays current. Those imports are processed through our vendors (including Apify for public listing and reel collection). Only import content you have the right to use.

Guests do not pay StaySeaside to browse or message. Host subscription fees are billed through Stripe. Stripe collects and processes payment method details under Stripe’s Privacy Policy. We use Stripe data to recognize your plan, renewals, invoices, and billing issues — not to charge guests for stays. Stay reservations and payouts stay on Airbnb, Vrbo, or the host’s own site.

We use cookies and similar storage to keep you signed in and to remember product preferences. StaySeaside does not run third-party advertising pixels or sell cookie data.

Listing views, booking-link clicks, and Crew mentions are stored as first-party product analytics in our database so hosts can see performance. They are not used to advertise to you on other sites.

On the production website we use two cookieless analytics services while we compare them: Plausible and Vercel Web Analytics. Both count page visits and a few actions (booking clicks, newsletter signups, saved stays, and new Crew chats). Neither uses advertising cookies. See Plausible’s privacy policy and Vercel’s privacy policy.

Because we do not use advertising cookies, there is no separate marketing-cookie toggle. You can block or delete cookies in your browser; blocking essential cookies will likely prevent sign-in. Google, Apple, and Stripe provide their own controls for cookies they set.

We share information with service providers who help us operate StaySeaside, under contracts that limit their use of the data:

• Supabase — accounts, database, and listing photo storage.
• Vercel — website hosting, and Web Analytics on the production website.
• Resend — login codes, message alerts, and other transactional email.
• Flodesk — newsletter and host operational email.
• Stripe — host subscription payments.
• OpenAI — Crew chats and listing-description writing help.
• Google — sign-in, maps, places, and geocoding.
• Apple — Sign in with Apple, when that option is enabled.
• Apify — Airbnb listing/review import and Instagram reel collection, when a host starts an import.
• Sanity — editorial content such as the blog and town guides.
• Plausible — cookieless site analytics on the production website.

We also show your public profile or listing content to other users as part of the product, and we may disclose information if required by law, to protect rights and safety, or as part of a merger or sale of the business (with notice where required).

We keep account, listing, message, Crew, and analytics records for as long as you have an account and as needed to operate the service, resolve disputes, and meet tax, billing, and legal duties. Host billing records are retained as required for accounting. You can ask us to delete your account by emailing support@stayseaside.com. We may retain limited information afterward if we must (for example, fraud prevention or completed invoices).

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate information (name, phone, and newsletter preference can be updated in account settings).
• Delete your account and associated personal data, subject to legal exceptions.
• Opt out of the newsletter at any time.
• Appeal a denial of a privacy request, where the law provides that right.

Email is not editable in the product today; contact support if you need that changed. California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are used in the CCPA/CPRA. We will not discriminate against you for exercising privacy rights.

To make a request, email support@stayseaside.com. We may need to verify your identity before completing it.

StaySeaside is for adults. You must be at least 18 to create an account, message hosts, or list a property. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you think a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

We use HTTPS, access controls, and vendor security practices to protect personal information. No online service is completely secure. Our core infrastructure is hosted in the United States. If you access StaySeaside from elsewhere, your information may be processed in the U.S. and other countries where our providers operate.

We may update this policy as the product or the law changes. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. Continued use of StaySeaside after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Privacy questions and requests: support@stayseaside.com.

General inquiries: hello@stayseaside.com.

StaySeaside LLC
Operator of StaySeaside